8 points, 9 seconds
Fansided

Tweets of the Night: Pacers Lose Game 3 With A Historic Collapse

By Jay Neal

Apr 4, 2017; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indiana Pacers forward Paul George (13) celebrates a three point basket and a lead over the Toronto Raptors in the second half of the game at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. The Pacers beat the Raptors 108-90. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 4, 2017; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indiana Pacers forward Paul George (13) celebrates a three point basket and a lead over the Toronto Raptors in the second half of the game at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. The Pacers beat the Raptors 108-90. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Indiana Pacers entered Game 3 with the knowledge that they can play with the Cleveland Cavaliers in this first round series. They fought back from double-digit deficits in both games to nearly steal a game on the road.

Trailing 0-2, the Pacers were back home in Banker’s Life Fieldhouse and looking to get back into the series. Could they find some defense to combat the Cavs three-point barrage? Would Nate McMillan finally make changes to the starting line-up and shorten the rotation? Or would it be more of the same… a valiant effort, but the best player on earth being just too good?

Here’s how Pacers fans & media reacted to the game on Twitter as it happened:

PREGAME

There’s been a change to the starting line-up. CJ in, Monta out.

Much to the delight of Pacers fans.

https://twitter.com/br_kicks/status/855193770077413376

Not sure there’s a bad colorway with this shoe… 🔥🔥🔥

And it’s a Gold Out… let’s do it!

1st QUARTER

CJ paying dividends early. 10-10 early.

Left corner three, then a lay-up on the next possession. Cavs take a timeout. The guys in gold lead 16-13.

#LanceEffect immediately off the bench.

Good guys up 23-19.

He flies down the lane for a scoop lay-up. Next possession, throws it down with two hands while being fouled. Whoa!

Paul George only has two points, but the Pacers lead by ten, their biggest lead of the series. The bench combined for 19 points in the quarter.

2nd QUARTER

Another Lance 3… Pacers +13.

Let’s just say Myles Turner didn’t go double pumping at the rim this time…

https://twitter.com/NBAonTNT/status/855206911003602944

Reach back, young fella! Pacers lead by ten.

And then this happened… Pacers extending the lead as Paul George has scored 10 in a row.

After taking Thompson’s soul on that dunk, Myles sends a Thompson lay-up attempt into the third row.

Another Paul George three-pointer and the lead swells to 22, 62-40. Indiana is playing with all the confidence and fairly solid defense.

Some things never change…

Well… that would’ve been nice, for sure.

PG knocks down ANOTHER 3. He has 19 points in the quarter. Pacers by 26!

Paul George “called out his teammates” & his teammates responded. Then, he took over. Pacers +25 at half. Indiana is shooting 57% from the field, including 10-17 from behind the line. A masterful first half against a Cleveland team that looked fairly disinterested.

Accurate.

Is that good? I’m not sure, but it seems good.

Ok, everybody… calm down. This is still the Pacers we’re talking about here. Heartbreak can come just as swiftly as this lead was built.

See… that’s a true Pacers fan right there. Mr. Wade knows.

Oh, national media.

Can’t stop looking at this!

3rd QUARTER

And here come the champs… Pacers offense has gone stagnant. Cavs knocking down threes and the lead is starting to dwindle.

We know how this movie goes.

Chill, Nate. Chillllllllllllllllll.

Lance has hit three from downtown. The Pacers are 58,374-0 when he does that. #LanceEffect

Additionally, the offense is back to stagnant. The Cavs are coming…

The lead has been cut to single digits with less than two minutes remaining in the quarter.

Yup.

Can the Pacers find that offensive rhythm they had in the 1st half? A lot of standing and watching, not a lot of player movement. On to the 4th…

4th QUARTER

Well on their way to rookin’ us. The lead keeps getting shorter and shorter.

Lance takes the bait, shoots an ill-advised three. Clank. On the other end, LeBron with a sublime pass to Korver for a corner three. The lead is five, 9:36 left.

Many Pacers fans wondering the same thing. Myles in, but no Teague yet as Ellis is summoned.

We NOT live baby… NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

I see no lies…

Monta still in? Thad still out? How Sway?!

LeBron with the right hand hammer. The ship be sinkin’.

“I’m thankful” © Marshawn Lynch

True.

Ellis is still in, Thad is still out. This is unreal.

He throws in another three and Cavs lead 111-107 with 2:50 left. This dude is amazing.

PG goes into the lane, gets fouled. No call & the ball is off of him. Yeah, that sucked.

Don’t we all. Channing Frye buries a dagger three-pointer to put the Cavs up seven with less than a minute left.

And that’s the game. The Pacers blow a 26-point lead to lose Game 3 119-114. The blown 25-point halftime lead is the biggest in NBA playoff history.

A lot of blame to go around for this historic collapse. The players seem to let their foot off the gas. The Cavs got a pretty good whistle in the second half (just like the Pacers got a good whistle in the first half).

But the combination of Nate McMillan’s decisions with the lineup combinations and the lack of ball movement/player movement offensively ultimately led to Indiana’s demise.

Game 4, which is presumably the final game of the Pacers season, is Sunday afternoon.

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